reír Preterite Conjugation
reír — to laugh
Reír is highly irregular in the preterite, featuring stem changes (e to i) and accent marks on 'í' for most forms.
reír Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when someone laughed at a specific moment or in response to a particular joke that has finished.
Notes on reír in the Preterite
This is a tricky one. It follows a 'sandal verb' pattern where the 'e' changes to 'i' in the third person (rió, rieron). Also, notice that 'reímos' and 'reíste' keep their accents to separate the vowels.
Example Sentences
Me reí mucho con tu chiste.
I laughed a lot at your joke.
yo
Él se rió de la situación.
He laughed at the situation.
él/ella/usted
Nos reímos durante toda la película.
We laughed throughout the whole movie.
nosotros
Ellos se rieron cuando me vieron.
They laughed when they saw me.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'reió' for the third person.
Correct: rió
Why: The double 'e' is dropped and the 'i' becomes the stressed vowel with an accent.
Mistake: Writing 'rieron' as 'reieron'.
Correct: rieron
Why: In the third person plural, the stem 're-' changes to 'ri-' and loses the extra 'e'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: río
In the present, reír adds an accent to the 'í' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros to keep the 'i' sound strong.
Imperfect
yo: reía
The imperfect reía is used for ongoing or habitual laughing in the past.
Future
yo: reiré
The future tense of reír is regular: take the infinitive and add the standard endings.
Conditional
yo: reiría
The conditional reiría expresses what someone 'would' laugh at under certain conditions.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ría
The present subjunctive ría is used after expressions of emotion, doubt, or desire.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: riera
The imperfect subjunctive riera is used for past emotions or 'if' scenarios regarding laughter.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ríe
Use the imperative ríe or rían to tell someone to laugh or cheer up.
Negative Imperative
yo: no rías
The negative imperative uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms: no te rías.